Jodie Foster has a blunt read on Brad Pitt’s racing blockbuster F1: the movie felt to her like something artificial intelligence could have helped build.
The actress made the comment during the Aspen Ideas Festival panel “Who Owns the Future of Hollywood?” while discussing how artificial intelligence is already changing film and television.
PEOPLE reported that Foster questioned whether F1 had been made with help from AI, while making clear she was not trying to dismiss the movie’s success.
“I don’t say this disparagingly,” Foster said, according to PEOPLE. “How could I? This movie went on to make millions of dollars.”
Foster Said the Movie Felt Like It Was “Made by AI”
During the panel, Foster said she looked at F1 and wondered whether the film had been made by AI. She pointed specifically to the movie’s story structure and dialogue.
PEOPLE reported that Foster said the structure was the kind taught in school, and that the actors seemed to deliver lines exactly as they might be written if a computer were choosing the right words for each moment.
The Independent reported that Foster also called the movie “big and beautiful,” suggesting that her critique was aimed less at the finished spectacle and more at how polished and predictable the machinery of the film felt to her.
She Used F1 to Talk About AI’s Place in Hollywood
Foster’s larger argument was about the future of creative work, not only one Brad Pitt movie. She said AI may be useful for smaller production tasks, including storyboarding, but warned that it could also remove jobs if the industry does not handle it carefully.
The Independent reported that Foster said unions may need to make sure actors are compensated properly if studios use a performer’s digital likeness repeatedly. She gave the example of an actor being used 20 times and being paid 20 times.
Foster also argued that filmmakers should learn to control the technology rather than let it control them. She said that if artists can “dominate” AI over time, they may be able to make work that better reflects human experience.
F1 Was a Major Hit for Apple
The Joseph Kosinski-directed movie starred Pitt as Sonny Hayes, a former Formula 1 driver who returns to racing after decades away from the sport.
The film also starred Damson Idris, Javier Bardem and Kerry Condon. PEOPLE reported that F1 opened internationally with $144 million, marking the biggest opening weekend of Pitt’s career.
The Independent reported that the movie went on to earn $634.1 million worldwide, became Pitt’s highest-grossing film to date, earned a Best Picture Oscar nomination and won Best Sound at the 2026 Academy Awards.
No One Has Confirmed AI Wrote the Movie
Foster noted that the film’s precise structure made it feel like a product of the AI era, sharing her view during a public panel on Hollywood and technology.
PEOPLE reported that representatives for Pitt, Foster, Kosinski and Apple TV were contacted for comment. The Independent reported that it also contacted Apple Original Films and Kosinski for comment, but no one has confirmed it.
Foster’s latest film, the French mystery A Private Life, includes a dream sequence generated with AI by director Rebecca Zlotowski, according to The Independent. Foster said she thought the result was good, though she admitted it “made no sense.”